Friday, 28 February 2014

C-FTWU has departed Regina bound for Winnipeg this evening, on delivery to Air Labrador. Although it had been in Springbank for some time, the aircraft was actually only registered to Ashe on 18-Feb-2014 on its return from Alberta Central.

The third member of the West Coast trio has now been registered to Ikhana as well. Also note a correction in the registrations in the original two from yesterday's blog. The information that is shown in the 27-Feb-2014 entry has now been corrected.

Of the three aircraft I'd expect N901RT (MSN 96) is the only one that could potentially fly to California on delivery; N902RT (MSN 40) and N903RT (MSN 51) will likely need to go via road transport.

200 - DHC-6-200 N123FX Freefall Express, Keene, NH

Registered 27-Feb-2014

The above is not an ownership change, however the registration had expired as of 31-Dec-2013, and the aircraft has now had a new certificate of registration issued.

311 - DHC-6-300 C-FBBV Kenn Borek Air, Calgary, AB

24-Feb-2014

Denver-Centennial, CO (KAPA/APA) - Calgary, AB (CYYC/YYC)

320 - DHC-6-300 C-FMPL Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ottawa, ON

Registration cancelled 24-Feb-2014 - there is currently no country of export indicated, so quite possibly just a pending change of ownership.

This would appear to be the one that had previously been filed as SXA1117 - and makes it one of the two LC Peru aircraft. That should probably make SXA1118 N72GC.

Both aircraft left the U.S. in the summer of 2012, with N72GC exiting via Brownsville, TX 02-Jul-2012, and N171GC following the same route on 29-Aug-2012. They are both Grand Canyon aircraft although registered to different Halvorson holding companies in Washington State.

The next U.A.E. Joint Aviation Command aircraft has departed the Ikhana facility and is currently en route to Redding and then Victoria. MSN 888 had been with Ikhana since 11-Jan-2014.

The two aircraft operating under Southern Cross ferry flight numbers SXA1117/SXA1118 are flight planned again today, on the same routing as yesterday. If anyone knows, and wants to volunteer which aircraft these two are, that would be great.

DHC-6-400 MSN 884 C-FVAM has returned to Victoria from Ikhana in Murrieta, CA - arriving there yesterday. This is the first Vietnam Navy aircraft we've seen that has been fitted with the skydive door, as can be noted in Tim Martin's photo below.

It would appear that the aircraft did in fact fly Murrieta, CA to Redding, CA on 15-Feb-2014 as noted, however sometime after that it then returned back to Murietta, CA. There is no flight plan record of that return trip available.

Today it has once again filed for the same Murietta to Redding route, this time as VKN884 (it had previously used C-FVAM on the flight plan)

18-Feb-2014Planned

Murietta-French Valley,CA (F70) - Redding, CA (KRDD/RDD)

890 - DHC-6-400 N400GZ Ground Zero Solutions LLC, Alexandria, VA

Again, updating a previous report from 13-Feb-2014:

The pre-delivery modifications scheduled for N400GZ will now be completed at Louisburg-Triangle North, NC (KLHZ/LHZ)

New certificate of registration issued 10-Feb-2014, which likely coincides with the receipt of the STC approval for the avionics upgrade that was completed by Calgary-based Aerocorp Avionics Solutions. The aircraft is destined for PT Air Born at Balikpapan, Indonesia.

C-GKPV was originally registered in Canada on 22-Mar-2012 upon its return from Nicaragua where it had been carrying YN-CHQ.

Sadly it appears we have another in a long line of Twin Otter losses in the challenging operating environment of Nepal.

Royal Nepal's 9N-ABB has crashed in the forest in the Argakhanchi district after departure from Pokhara. The wreckage was located on 17-Feb-2014 near the village of Masine Lek, and it has been confirmed that there were 18 fatalities. The crash occurred at the 7,000 ft level, and wreckage was found over an area of approximately 7 kilometers.

The aircraft was en route from Kathmandu to Jumla, with a stop in Pokhara, and carried a crew of 3, and 15 passengers.

Saturday, 15 February 2014

C-FVAM has departed the Ikhana facility in Murrieta today, with the first sector up to Redding, CA. The aircraft had been present in Murrieta since arriving there on 22-Oct-2013 for pre-delivery modifications. It is destined for the Vietnam Navy as VNT-772.

N400GZ has now filed for the next sector on to Louisburg, with a flight time of 2 hours and 48 minutes. From there the final hop should be into the privately owned North Raleigh, NC (00NC) field located just to the northwest.

Singapore, February 14th, 2014: With the
bustling 2014 Singapore Airshow show well underway, Viking Air Limited of
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, was able to capture another multiple aircraft
sale of the Twin Otter Series 400, adding to an order book nearing 100 aircraft
sold. CAVU Aviation Finance LLC, of Palm Beach, Florida, USA, met with
Viking late on Wednesday afternoon to sign a contract for another two Twin
Otter Series 400 aircraft, adding to their current aircraft order
list.

The additional two Series 400 brings the
CAVU order tally (through its subsidiary Loch Ard Otters LLC) to fourteen
aircraft since program launch, making CAVU the largest Viking Twin Otter customer
to date. CAVU has already taken delivery of their first six aircraft, helping
to launch the Twin Otter Series 400 in Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Turkey,
Bangladesh, and the United Arab Emirates.

“Loch Ard was one of the original launch
customers for the Series 400 Twin Otter program, and has returned to
Viking on more than one occasion to increase their aircraft orders,”
commented David Curtis, Viking president & CEO. “We greatly
appreciate the customer loyalty Loch Ard has developed with Viking, and
their continued confidence in the Series 400 Twin Otter.”

Said Matt Lorentzen, president of CAVU
Aviation Finance LLC, “the Twin Otter 400 is the best solution for customers
requiring up to 19-passenger capacity in STOL and seaplane configurations.
As customer demand grows for new Twin Otter 400s, we are pleased to
expand our relationship with Viking with additional aircraft orders,
extending our available delivery positions from 2014 through 2016.”

With Viking aircraft sold and delivered to
23 countries worldwide, the Series 400 Twin Otter is confirmed as the
best-selling next generation turbo-prop aircraft in its class. Viking provides
OEM support for the worldwide fleet of de Havilland legacy aircraft (DHC-1
through DHC-7) and forms part of Westerkirk Capital Inc, a Canadian
private investment firm with substantial holdings in the hospitality,
aviation, and real estate sectors.

The Warren Twin Otter continues to make its way back to base in Honduras with this morning's sector from Brownsville to Minatitlan, in the state of Veracruz.

824 - DHC-6-300 N46RF U.S. Department of Commerce, MacDill AFB, FL

13-Feb-2014 Planned

Springbank, AB (CYBW/YBW) - Great Falls, MT (KGTF/GTF)

Following a successful test flight on 11-Feb-2014, N46RF is scheduled to leave the Rocky Mountain Aircraft facility in Springbank this morning. The aircraft had departed its base at MacDill AFB in Tampa, FL

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

N400GZ has now received all required FAA documentation to ferry for additional pre-delivery modifications, and is expected to depart Bellingham, WA shortly. This is the next U.A.E. bound aircraft, and the modification work will be undertaken by Rampart Aviation in North Carolina.

Tuesday, 11 February 2014

First Flying To Become Inaugural Twin Otter Series 400 Operator in Country

Singapore, February 12th, 2014: Viking Air Limited of Victoria, BC, Canada and First Flying

Co., Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, have entered into an agreement for the purchase of two Twin Otter

Series 400 aircraft, making First Flying the premiere Twin Otter Series 400 customer in the

country.

The two aircraft, scheduled for delivery starting in early 2015, will be configured as standard
19-passenger commercial landplanes and put into operation as domestic carriers based in
Okinawa and operated throughout the Ryukyu Islands in the southernmost region of Japan.
“We are pleased to add First Flying to our growing list of international customers, not only as
a new member of the Series 400 family, but as a leader in opening up the Japanese market,”
commented David Curtis, Viking president & CEO. He continued, “We are confident that the
aircraft will be well received in this new market, and First Flying will be successful in introducing
the Twin Otter Series 400 to Japan.”

Masanobu Nishikawa, First Flying president, stated “We are very happy to be bringing the
Twin Otter Series 400 back to Japan again, as it has been approximately eight years since
the last Series 300 Twin Otter retired from the Japanese sky.” He added, “Our company has
put forward considerable effort to maintain the routes among the Ryuku Islands in Okinawa,
and the addition of our new Series 400 aircraft will enable us to develop new routes and bring
more passengers and cargo to the area. We are sure that our determination will be great
news not just for Okinawa citizens, but for all the people of Japan.”

First Flying Co., Ltd. is a regional air carrier and flying club based at Yao Airport, in Osaka,
and operates a mixed fleet of fixed wing and rotary aircraft for flightseeing, aerial survey and
flight training services between Yao Airport and Hiroshima-Heliport.

With Viking aircraft sold and delivered to 23 countries worldwide, the Series 400 Twin Otter is
confirmed as the best-selling next generation turbo-prop aircraft in its class. Viking provides
OEM support for the worldwide fleet of de Havilland legacy aircraft (DHC-1 through DHC-7)
and forms part of Westerkirk Capital Inc, a Canadian private investment firm with substantial
holdings in the hospitality, aviation, and real estate sectors.

This aircraft's Canadian registration was cancelled on 06-Feb-2014 to the U.S. and is the second Vietnam Navy aircraft to carry a U.S. identity prior to delivery. It flew down to the Ikhana Group facility in Murrieta-French Valley, CA on 17-Dec-2013 for pre-delivery modifications.

891 - DHC-6-400 C-GUVA Viking Air Ltd., Sidney, BC

Registration cancelled 10-Feb-2014 to Peru.

As seen in the blog update photograph on 07-Feb-2014, this aircraft has become FAP 306.

Monday, 10 February 2014

A 33 year old DHC-6 Twin Otter has received a new lease on life, following a comprehensive overhaul and upgrade project completed by RUAG Aviation at their facility in Bern-Belp, Switzerland. The re-life project was performed on behalf of Blue Bird Aviation Yemen, which owns the DHC-6 Twin Otter 7O-ADI MSN 664 and approached RUAG Aviation following successful experiences with engine and component overhauls.

Corrosion repairs were carried out on the wings, improving the aircraft’s safety and lifespan, and enabling the customer to avoid the unnecessary costs and downtime of complete wing replacements. The re-life programme extends the wing’s use for a further 33,000 flight hours. To further improve the Twin Otter’s life cycle, the cockpit of the 33 year old aircraft was fully modernised. Garmin 650/750 touchscreen navigation displays were integrated by RUAG Aviation, along with an Aspen 1000 avionics suite that incorporates an autopilot system and a new weather radar.

“The upgrades and modifications performed by RUAG Aviation have effectively made a new aircraft out of the Twin Otter 7O-ADI MSN 664,” says Simon Hafele, General Manager of RUAG Aviation’s Bern/Belp facility. “With the aircraft’s new modern avionics and the re-life STC of its wings, the customer can confidently continue operating their Twin Otter for many more years to come.”

The entire avionics engineering, manufacturing of cable looms, installations and final testing involved in the re-life programme were completed by RUAG Aviation.

RUAG Aviation is a certified Part 21J EASA Design Organisation, Part 21G EASA Production Organisation and Part 145 EASA Maintenance Organisation.

Thursday, 6 February 2014

Nose gear failed after runway excursion on landing at Anadyr-Ugolny following a scheduled service from Cross Bay (Zaliv Kresta), Chukotka. The aircraft appears to have sustained fairly typical station 60 damage, as can be seen in the photo below. There were no injuries to the nine on board.

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